Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The Favorite Players Post

So the Euro Quarterfinals are set. With our “gift” from
Berlusconi of keeping a player that we already had, and everyone tied to Milan
repeatedly saying in the media that our squad is “complete” or “nearly
complete,” (barring the inevitable addition of Acerbi, which is rumored to be
complete as early as today,) I thought it would be nice to take our minds off
of these things and talk a little bit about our favorite Milan players.

Seedorf sneaks in to remind you of who your favorite player is.

Anyone who has read this blog for any length of time already
knows who my favorites are, so although I will disclose them again, I thought I
would survey the other Milanisti here to add a little something new.

Who is your favorite current Milan player?

Sofia: My
favorite player is Thiago Silva.
Well he’s been my favorite ever since my mom wrote the “Silent Knight” post
about him. I really like defending, so the defense position that he plays helps
play a part in my favoritism as well. I also like that he’s really loyal.

Massimo: My
favorite player is Ibra. I like him
because he’s a good all around player, he goes back and defends if he needs to.
And he pretty much controls his team in a way that’s good for the team. He’s
very skilled and he’s very powerful. He finds every chance and takes it to the
extreme. If you mess with Ibra, you’ll literally get your brains knocked out.

Me: My favorite
player is Christian Abbiati. I have
always had a thing for goalkeepers, maybe I like that I always feel safe
because they’ve always got my back. But Abbiati, barring a few “what was he
thinking” (human) moments, is great at anticipating the shot, extending
fearlessly, and defending the net, even to the tips of his toes when all else
fails. A lot of keepers scream a lot, and Abbiati will do that, from time to
time, but he really just bosses the box. He organizes the back line to the
point that he doesn’t need to scream. And he really got credit from me this
last season for playing with a completely different backline practically every
week due to injuries. He is my hero of the nets.

Who is your favorite past Milan player?

Sofia: My
favorite player is Pippo because of
the song: “Oi oi oi, oi oi oi oi, Pippo Inzaghi segna per noi.” His name is
awesome. I like his celebrations. And I like that he scored a lot, that’s a
really good thing in a player.

Massimo: I like Andrea Pirlo. He’s a really good
midfielder. He inspires passionate play and he increases the level of play. He
has really good passes and crosses sometimes and he takes some really good free
kicks. He makes some pretty good shots, too.

Me: You might
think that my favorite is Pippo Inzaghi if you’ve only recently started
reading, but I haven’t even come to grips with the fact that he is now a former
Milan player. In addition to goalkeepers, I have a thing for defenders, so my
favorite former Milan player is the sublime and one of a kind, Paolo Maldini. Who ever thought that
tackles could be beautiful? And yet everything that he did on the pitch was
beautiful, like watching art in motion. Always classy, ever the fierce
competitor and a teammate and captain that anyone would want to play next to,
he is and always will be my captain.

So now it’s your turn. Please tell us your favorite current and former
Milan players. Even if we narrowed it down to one, you can list as many as you
like.